Cold Comforts

Antarctic Research Bases Are Seriously Self-Sustaining

The new Princess Elisabeth station is the delicate flower of Antarctic buildings: small, beautiful, efficient, and blooming only in summer. Designed to be the first carbon-free facility on The Ice, the station employs a sophisticated energy-management system that makes the most of the limited power generated by its 52-kilowatt solar array and 54-kilowatt wind-turbine cluster. The station assigns a priority level to every piece of equipment and electric outlet in the building. Life-support systems and research gear trump dishwashers and portable electronics. In other words, don’t plug in your iPod without asking the station’s brain first.

One of the few inland bases occupied year-round, the two-nation station is built for long-term habitation in the most extreme conditions. The buildings’ drumlike contours maximize thermal efficiency, while a wastewater system developed by the European Space Agency recycles water from showers and sinks. The space agency’s interest in Concordia extends beyond the plumbing: Because the isolation, confinement, and cramped quarters here resemble conditions on a long space journey, the ESA is studying the physiological and psychological effects that life at the station has on its 15 winter residents. There are no plans for a spinoff reality TV show.

All the newest Antarctic stations are designed to be jacked up above the snow, but the Germans do it without missing a beat. The 2,500-ton Neumayer III is held up by 16 foundation supports, each embedded with computer-controlled hydraulic jacks that continuously compensate for structural deformations as the ice shifts underneath it. They can also elevate the entire structure above the snow as it piles up: Engineers retract the legs in pairs while plows scurry to pack snow beneath each column. And it’s a smooth ride — station operations continue uninterrupted, and the scientists feel nothing but a slight vibration.

Though it confronts the coldest temperatures on the continent (dipping below -100°) and the longest supply chain this side of Dune, the US base is the largest in the Antarctic interior. Home to 150 scientists and support staff, Amundsen-Scott was built to last. It took 12 Antarctic summers to complete the project, and all the construction materials were delivered in the cargo bays of LC-130 Hercules aircraft. Sitting 10 feet off the ground on 36 stilts, the station is shaped like an airplane wing. Wind accelerates underneath and discourages snow from piling up. When drifts get too high, hydraulic lifts can raise the building another two stories in 10-inch increments.

Photo: Keith Vanderlinde/National Science Foundation

Halley VI (UK)
Length of module*: 64.6 feet
Width: 33 feet
Height: 33.1 feet
*This is the first of several modules of varying sizes that will be linked end-to-end.

Researchers have occupied this site continuously for 54 years, creating an invaluable scientific record. (The man-made hole in the ozone was first identified here, so the coordinates are crucial in tracking the state of the atmosphere.) But staying put is not easy. The Brunt Ice Shelf moves as much as half a mile a year, like a conveyor belt built to toss tea-drinking scientists into the icy sea. So the old station is being abandoned as it moves toward the abyss. This new base, however, is more like an RV than an A-frame: Several ski-shod pods get towed back to their original positions as the ice shelf moves.

The research station of the South African National Antarctic Expedition, completed in 1997, is the oldest of this new generation. But what it lacks in technology it makes up for in location. The base rests dramatically on top of an outcropping, known as a nunatak, some 800 feet high. The void below acts as a subzero maelstrom, sucking in snow and keeping it from burying the station up above. Furthermore, Sanae’s position about 100 miles inland, off the ice, and situated on solid rock makes it ideal for sensitive seismological studies and GPS research. Teams of up to 10 scientists, engineers, mechanics, and doctors do 15-month stints perched here. Call it a lab with a view.

One of the few inland bases occupied year-round, the two-nation station is built for long-term habitation in the most extreme conditions. The buildings’ drumlike contours maximize thermal efficiency, while a wastewater system developed by theEuropean Space Agency recycles water from showers and sinks. The space agency’s interest in Concordia extends beyond the plumbing: Because the isolation, confinement, and cramped quarters here resemble conditions on a long space journey, the ESA is studying the physiological and psychological effects that life at the station has on its 15 winter residents. There are no plans for a spinoff reality TV show.

All the newest Antarctic stations are designed to be jacked up above the snow, but the Germans do it without missing a beat. The 2,500-ton Neumayer III is held up by 16 foundation supports, each embedded with computer-controlled hydraulic jacks that continuously compensate for structural deformations as the ice shifts underneath it. They can also elevate the entire structure above the snow as it piles up: Engineers retract the legs in pairs while plows scurry to pack snow beneath each column. And it’s a smooth ride — station operations continue uninterrupted, and the scientists feel nothing but a slight vibration.

Though it confronts the coldest temperatures on the continent (dipping below -100°) and the longest supply chain this side of Dune, the US base is the largest in the Antarctic interior. Home to 150 scientists and support staff, Amundsen-Scott was built to last. It took 12 Antarctic summers to complete the project, and all the construction materials were delivered in the cargo bays of LC-130 Hercules aircraft. Sitting 10 feet off the ground on 36 stilts, the station is shaped like an airplane wing. Wind accelerates underneath and discourages snow from piling up. When drifts get too high, hydraulic lifts can raise the building another two stories in 10-inch increments.

Photo: Keith Vanderlinde/National Science Foundation

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Halley VI (UK)
Length of module*: 64.6 feet
Width: 33 feet
Height: 33.1 feet
*This is the first of several modules of varying sizes that will be linked end-to-end.

Researchers have occupied this site continuously for 54 years, creating an invaluable scientific record. (The man-made hole in the ozone was first identified here, so the coordinates are crucial in tracking the state of the atmosphere.) But staying put is not easy. The Brunt Ice Shelf moves as much as half a mile a year, like a conveyor belt built to toss tea-drinking scientists into the icy sea. So the old station is being abandoned as it moves toward the abyss. This new base, however, is more like an RV than an A-frame: Several ski-shod pods get towed back to their original positions as the ice shelf moves.

The research station of the South African National Antarctic Expedition, completed in 1997, is the oldest of this new generation. But what it lacks in technology it makes up for in location. The base rests dramatically on top of an outcropping, known as a nunatak, some 800 feet high. The void below acts as a subzero maelstrom, sucking in snow and keeping it from burying the station up above. Furthermore, Sanae’s position about 100 miles inland, off the ice, and situated on solid rock makes it ideal for sensitive seismological studies and GPS research. Teams of up to 10 scientists, engineers, mechanics, and doctors do 15-month stints perched here. Call it a lab with a view.